The Movie Like Not Another Teen Movie Parody Fans Need To See
Parody movies are hard to get right. While it's important to point out tropes, the best parodies have a certain semblance of respect for their subject matter. You can see this in the likes of "Spaceballs" and "Airplane!," but if you're a fan of teen-oriented romantic comedies from the 1990s, then "Not Another Teen Movie" absolutely needs to be on your watch list.
The film skewers a litany of beloved rom-coms, including "She's All That," "10 Things I Hate About You," and "Never Been Kissed," as well as the far raunchier "American Pie," but that's only the tip of the iceberg. Even if you only have a passing familiarity with movies of the genre, you're bound to find well-placed references to numerous other films. Plus, "Not Another Teen Movie" is noteworthy for being the feature film debut of the future Captain America — Chris Evans.
Not only do all the characters embody different high school film stereotypes from the popular jock to the vindictive cheerleader, but numerous moments from teen rom-coms are subverted in often hilarious ways, such as when Jake Wyler (Evans) runs to the airport to profess his love for Janey (Chyler Leigh) but can only think to spout off lines from other movies. It's a ton of fun, but if you're in the mood to laugh more at all the ways rom-coms tend to be the same, then there's another parody movie out there for you to check out.
They Came Together takes the rom-com parody out of high school
If you've seen one romantic comedy, then you've pretty much seen them all. Two people have a meet-cute, they start going out, something happens that forces them to break up, and then it ends with a grand romantic gesture to bring them back together. 2014's "They Came Together" expects its audience to be familiar with this structure so that it can have a blast throwing all of the rom-com tropes into the absurdity blender. It also helps that the movie is directed by David Wain ("Wet Hot American Summer") and stars one of the most impressive comedic casts in recent memory with Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Ellie Kemper, Jason Mantzoukas, Cobie Smulders, Ed Helms, and Max Greenfield. There are plenty of other big names in the cast, but they're best left as surprises.
Taking a cue from "You've Got Mail," the movie kicks off when Joel (Rudd), who works for a massive candy conglomerate, wants to buy out Molly's (Poehler) small candy shop, and it only gets more absurd from there. Where something like "Not Another Teen Movie" is great for people who love teen movies, "They Came Together" is perfect for people who love parody movies specifically. Critic Stephan Lee of Entertainment Weekly wrote as much: "Rom-com tropes like the 'meet-cute' are so tired that you can't just spoof them — you have to spoof the spoofs, which this winking David Wain-Michael Showalter parody mostly succeeds at doing."
"They Came Together" is meta on a whole other level than you're used to, so if you've breezed past "Not Another Teen Movie," "Scary Movie," and other films of that ilk, then it should be next on your list. Allow this adorkable coffee date scene between Rudd and Poehler (via YouTube) to convince you to rent it.